-DATE- 19881108 -YEAR- 1988 -DOCUMENT_TYPE- REPORT -AUTHOR- F.CASTRO -HEADLINE- HAVANA'S PAB-EXPO "EXCLUSIVO" NEWSCAST -PLACE- CUBA -SOURCE- HAVANA RADIO REBELDE -REPORT_NBR- FBIS -REPORT_DATE- 19881108 -TEXT- Talks About Tourism FL0811024588 Havana Radio Rebelde Network in Spanish 0000 GMT 8 Nov 88 [Live report by Mercedes Hernandez with FM unit at Havana's Pab-Expo during "Exclusivo" newscast hosted by Daniel Torres] [Text] [Torres] Commander in Chief Fidel Castro is visiting for the second time the sixth Havana International Fair, which will close today. Yesterday, Fidel visited the Colombia, Mexico, France, PRCs, Soviet Union, GDR, CSSR, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Spain pavilions. He continued his tour today. Twenty-three countries representing over 30 commercial firms are attending the 6th Havana International Fair. Rebelde's "Exclusivo" establishes immediate contact with journalist Mercedes Hernandez, who is at the Pab-Expo in Havana, in one of the FM units, to offer us details of the commander in chief's tour. This is a direct contact with one of our FM units. Good evening. [Hernandez] Good evening Daniel, good evening Cuba. During his tour through Pab-Expo, where the fair is taking place, Fidel expressed interest in technologies and products exhibited there. At the stand of Mexico's Otis firm, Fidel asked about the production cooperation between the enterprise and Cuba regarding elevators inasmuch as they are used in our country in various areas such as hospitals, buildings, and hotels. Fidel noted the importance Cuban tourist industry has for the development of the economy. On this, he told "Exclusivo:" [Begin recording] [Castro] The tourism industry is important because it should produce currency for the acquisition of those things the country needs for development. It is important; we have to work on learning how to treat visitors and combat all those things that perturb visitors. I know that when something is stolen from a visitor;, all that is [words indistinct]. Now, there are some 120 km of undeveloped beaches in the northern part of the country and in the Keys. We are going to take over those 120 km. For example, in Cayo Coco there are over 20km of undeveloped beaches. Between the northern coast and the keys, especially in the keys, there are around 120 km of beaches similar to the ones in Varadero. They are not all the same. Some are as good and others are not as good. But in reality our northern coast has fabulous natural resources in terms of beaches. Now we have to be capable of using these resources and exploiting them. We don't have great amounts of oil but we have sun, sea, and a healthy climate. Let's see. [Hernandez] Commander, in this sense this is important because of the development tourism is going to have in the next few years, especially in the year 2,000. [Castro] I believe we have no other choice than to develop it a lot. Another thing is that the development of beaches for international tourists helps domestic tourists. Let me five you a very simple example. There were 2,000 rooms in Varadero. During the summer, most of them were used by domestic tourists. But even if part of then are used during the summer, it will always be a small part. Thirty or 40 percent of the rooms are occupied. But this percentage will never be higher. Tourists who come from more developed countries, with more economic resources, look for beaches and sun, especially during the winter months. When Varadero has 30,000 rooms, if 40 percent were occupied by foreign tourists, 18,000 would still be left for domestic tourists. So all the beaches that are going to be developed will also help domestic tourists. There shouldn't be the idea that everything that is built is going to help only .... [rephrases] Because there is also a coincidence. In this country, where there is a cat mentality regarding cold weather, regarding cold weather [repeats], nobody wants to get in when the water is 26 degrees. People go into the water when it is 28, 29, 30, and 31 degrees. But in the months of January, February, and December nobody goes to the beach here. Hotels were empty in the winter for many years. Nobody went. Now, in a way this complemented the interests of the country. Because it is precisely during these months that our people do not go to the beach during the months foreign tourists do not go. Here everyone wants to go to the beach in July and August. Hotels will never reach their capacity in those 2 months alone. We are planning to continue encouraging camping, especially in the north. Each year we are building one or two more .... [unidentified speaker interrupts, words indistinct] With swimming pools, they have to be build with swimming pools because they have rocks. We will use the rocks for slides and stairs. [Words indistinct] is well informed about all that. [end recording] -END-